What To Buy: Celgene Corporation's Buy Recommendation Reiterated

Editor's Note: Any reference to TheStreet Ratings and its underlying recommendation does not reflect the opinion of TheStreet, Inc. or any of its contributors including Jim Cramer or Stephanie Link.

NEW YORK ( TheStreet) -- Celgene Corporation (Nasdaq: CELG) has been reiterated by TheStreet Ratings as a buy with a ratings score of A-. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its robust revenue growth, expanding profit margins, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, solid stock price performance and notable return on equity. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had sub par growth in net income.

CELG's revenue growth has slightly outpaced the industry average of 11.1%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues rose by 18.0%. This growth in revenue does not appear to have trickled down to the company's bottom line, displayed by a decline in earnings per share.

The gross profit margin for CELGENE CORP is currently very high, coming in at 96.52%. It has increased from the same quarter the previous year. Regardless of the strong results of the gross profit margin, the net profit margin of 22.24% trails the industry average.

CELG's debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79 is somewhat low overall, but it is high when compared to the industry average, implying that the management of the debt levels should be evaluated further. Even though the debt-to-equity ratio shows mixed results, the company's quick ratio of 3.58 is very high and demonstrates very strong liquidity.

Compared to its closing price of one year ago, CELG's share price has jumped by 103.86%, exceeding the performance of the broader market during that same time frame. Looking ahead, the stock's sharp rise over the last year has already helped drive it to a level which is relatively expensive compared to the rest of its industry. We feel, however, that other strengths this company displays justify these higher price levels.

CELGENE CORP's earnings per share declined by 10.3% in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. This company has reported somewhat volatile earnings recently. But, we feel it is poised for EPS growth in the coming year. During the past fiscal year, CELGENE CORP increased its bottom line by earning $3.30 versus $2.85 in the prior year. This year, the market expects an improvement in earnings ($5.99 versus $3.30).

Celgene Corporation discovers, develops, and commercializes therapies for cancer and immune-inflammatory related diseases in the United States and Europe. Celgene has a market cap of $70.4 billion and is part of the health care sector and drugs industry. The company has a P/E ratio of 49.00, above the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 18.00. Shares are up 117.6% year to date as of the close of trading on Wednesday.